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Sunday, March 31, 2013

I was injured on someone else’s property. What Can I Do?

Most , property owners, including entities such as
the city and state, are responsible for injuries that occur as a result
of a dangerous or hazardous condition that exists on their property, which the owner
either knew or should have known about. The hazard can be obvious (such
as ice on steps) or hidden (such as a hole in a lawn that is partially
covered by grass). In some cases it may not be apparent, as in
flooring that appears normal but is very waxy and slippery. The dangerous condition
could be permanent, such as broken concrete
or temporary, such as a slippery spill in a market aisle.
Legally a property owner will be considered to have knowledge of a
dangerous or hazardous condition if it is permanent in nature, because
the owner knew, or should have known, about the condition before the
incident occurs.
In the case of temporary conditions , the length
of time that the condition exists prior to the incident occurred is
important. If the spill occurred just before the incident, the
property owner may not be liable to the plaintiff, because the owner could not
have known about the spill (and would not have been able to do anything
about it) before the injury occurred. If, the spill however, was
present for some time before the incident, or occurred in an area
subject to liquid spills, or is a recurring event in the area, the owner
may be liable, even if he or she did not know about this particular
spill.